Kirsty comes close at Somerville

Kirsty Broun has finished second in the Tour of Somerville one of the best criterium races in the world held in New Jersey in the US.

Broun has taken a month off from competing in Europe to ride in selected events in the US and Canada, riding at the weekend for Team Verducci Breakaway Racing. In coming weeks she will also compete in the Philadelphia Liberty Classic and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Gatineau, at Ottawa in Canada, before returning to Europe with the AIS team.

The New Jersey event was won by US rider Theresa Cliff-Ryan, competing for the Colavita-Baci Pro Cycling Team, who also won the same event in 2007.

Fellow American rider and 2008 US road racing and criterium champion Brooke Miller, of Team Tibco, finished third behind Broun, who is also a former Australian criterium champion.

The race was held in oppressive temperatures around 36 degrees over a downtown Somerville criterium circuit.

The race is one of the major events for the US Memorial Day holiday, and is the oldest race in the US, dating back to 1940.

The battle for placings was tight after 47 minutes and 32km, with only a wheel separating the first three riders.